Prelude to a
by sclairef99
Summary: The Team is being shuttled back to earth after a mission via the Daedalus and Sam and Jack have a bit of a run in.Disclaimer: Like all these other fan fic writers....I don't own any of these characters, their creation is not of my doing, it is of theirs,


"The true nature of man is decided in the battle of his conscious mind and the desires of the subconscious."

Far be it for SG-1 forgo a poker night just because they happened to be on their way across the galaxy in the Daedleus. O'Neill and T'ealc were having a 'bluff-fest', as it were. A somewhat cranky Colonel up against an alien who's held his emotions for many years, Daniel just didn't stand a chance. Carter could get lucky from time to time until her Colonel made her smile or laugh, which would always, always destroy her bluff, and of course he'd done just that to her in the last round of the night. He was pulling out all the stops, plus he just loved to ruffle Carter's feathers.

As T'ealc laid out a full house, upon O'Neill's call to beat his straight, Carter pushed back from the table to bid everyone a goodnight. "Well, seeing as T'ealc has cleaned us out again, I'm off for the night."

"What's the matter Carter, can't wait to get up tomorrow and run some more diagnostics and simulations?" O'Neill snarked. She gave him a toothy smile responding with her typical, "Can't wait, Sir." And with that she turned and left them for the night.

She headed down to the mess to grab a cup of tea to take back to her quarters to enjoy while she read a new book she brought along. After dumping her two spoonfuls of sugar in the cup she turned to see the stars whizzing by the window. Even the Air Force had done the design right, giving this military ship a small piece of "heaven", where officers could relax watching something she never even dreamed would be happening in her lifetime.

She was mesmerized for awhile until her trance was broken when she heard the door to the mess/observation deck open. She didn't have to look around, she knew who it was, her hair on the back of her neck was starting to prickle and her stomach started to flip a bit. She was tired and her emotional guard was down, which would explain how she could allow the stomach to flip around. She could hear him searching for a piece of cake, he was clinking all the dishes around looking for the chocolate one, he was making that little aggravated noise he did, it must have been in the very back of the case. Finally he got it and a fork too and started to wander in her direction. She was hoping to hear his soft voice say her name, it was late, she had her nice warm tea and had been stealing away her thoughts when he had entered and if she couldn't act on them, perhaps he could just play into them a bit, it would be a nice way to end the day.

"Whatcha doin' Carter?" he said softly as he cut his cake for the first bite.

She kept her back turned to him as she smiled into her tea cup, taking a sip and turning to him. "Just watching the stars go by, sir." she returned the phrase as quietly as he did and then sat down at his table. The sat there in silence for a little while, Carter looking at the stars and O'Neill looking up from his cake to take in Carter.

She felt his gaze, drawing in her breath, unwilling to look at him as she was trying to hold off her thoughts, but all she could think of was looking into those big brown eyes, stroking his cheek and then leading forward to taste his lips. Last time she was on one of their ships, that's exactly what she had done, if only in her dreams.

He wondered what she was thinking. Probably some huge equation for what was going on, making the stars look like they did as they traveled. Most people enjoyed the stars as they went by before jumping into hyperspace, but if he knew Carter, she was analyzing something. She did here little facial move that she did when she was deeply disturbed by something.

"Hey", he said softly.

Carter was gently knocked out of her longing thoughts and she looked over and locked eyes with him and mouthed "what?"

"You are deep in thought Carter, care to share or is it something that my brain will start to throb about?" he smiled, leaning back in his chair.

"Probably something like that, sir" that word, 'sir' always pulled her back to reality, though she was fighting the need to be in reality right now.

"You look tired Carter, how about you get some rest." Again with that soft tone.

"Yes, sir, I think I could use that right about now.' Carter responded, looking down and then slowly rising from her chair. She moved over to the door and he followed her closely. Right before she made it to the door, she turned quickly and it was all he could do to keep from running into her. They were but inches away from each other, she could feel his breath on her heavy eyelids. Their eyes locked again.

It was as if she was dreaming, she felt her hand moving upwards as she tried to say it, 'Sir', but only a small whisper of an S came out. Then her hand fell on his cheek feeling the combination of softness and stubble from the day's growth. She couldn't stop herself and he didn't pull away, she reached to the back of his neck absorbing the feeling of the short military cut in her hand. She had moved her face less than a breath away from his lips and then didn't stop, she took the chance she had been thinking about tonight. They'd kept secrets before and if he hadn't moved, he was willing. His lips were soft and warm, slightly chocolaty, but she couldn't linger any longer, as her senses gripped her, this was the perfect time for Daniel or someone to waltz in. So, she turned away quickly and disappeared without so much as a 'goodnight, sir'.

'What the hell just happened' Jack was thinking as he just stood there, paralyzed. As her scent left him and his limbs started to work again, he realized he was now standing face to face with Daniel and then O'Neill returned.

"Daniel! What are you doing!"

"Uh, Jack, I thought I would have some coffee so I could work on some translations." He was befuddled at Jack's snap, but asked anyway 'What are you doing Jack"

"Going to bed" he responded and then huffed out of the mess, leaving Daniel in his wake.

He really was going to head to his quarters, but ended up standing in front of hers. He knocked, not really expecting an answer, but she surprised him again and opened the door. She was still in her BDU pants, but had lost the bulky BDU top and was now in her sleeveless black shirt and the hair around her face was just a tad wet.

She backed up as she opened the door, not really sure what to do now, he had followed.

"Carter" he stared, and she stepped aside to let him in.

She was sure he was going to read her the riot act by the look on his face, though that was not what she was hoping. And it wasn't what she got either.

As soon as the door closed he leaned in to her, gently grabbing her head with both hands and first brushing her lips and as she responded, his kiss deepened. They finally broke but didn't go any farther than they needed to in an effort to gaze into the others eyes. Then he pulled her close to him, "C'mere" he whispered and pulled her into a really nice, patented Jack O'Neill special hug, complete with dipping head into her neck, but this time he lightly kissed her neck.

She was at a complete loss, loving the entire moment, but torn as to what to do, even though she had started it. She just melted in his arms and reveled in the comfort and love she felt. Then he whispered in her ear again, "We'll continue this 'conversation' as soon as we get home." He then released her and was out the door before she could find the strength to reach for him.


End file.
